Under tight security jury recommends life without parole for Birmingham man in 2013 shooting death

Jefferson County Sheriff's Deputies on back row of courtroom waiting for jury to return sentence recommendation in Derrick Allen capital murder trial on June 20, 2014.

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama –A Jury on Friday morning recommended that Derrick Allen be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for his capital murder conviction in the 2013 shooting death of another man.

The 11-woman one-man jury voted 12-0 to recommend Allen spend the rest of his life in prison after deliberating 30 minutes this morning.

Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Clyde Jones set Aug. 7 as the date for sentencing Allen. At that time, the judge can either accept the jury's recommendation or override it and impose the death penalty.

Courtroom security was tight this morning, with a half-dozen sheriff's deputies in the courtroom to prevent a repeat of a scuffle Thursday afternoon between bailiffs and two women who screamed and cried out after the jury found Allen guilty. Jones sentenced the two women to spend 48 hours in the county jail for contempt.

After today's recommendation jurors were led away from the criminal courts building under guard.

Allen's attorney William Myers,said an appeal of the verdict is likely. He said he appreciates the unanimous recommendations from the jury for life without parole rather than the death penalty. Kwenita Chanae Anderson also represented Allen.

Allen's grandmother, Christine Allen Cooke, said she thinks the prosecution of her grandson was unfair and they will fight for his freedom. "How can you give someone life without when there is no kind of evidence," she said.

Rose Morrow, sister of the victim Adam Morrow, said the family does not want the death penalty imposed on Allen. "We're just glad that it went the way it went," she said. "He (her brother) didn't deserve to have his life taken like this."

Deputy Jefferson County District Attorney Joe Roberts said that he and deputy district attorney Deborah Danneman are very pleased with the jury's verdict and agree that based upon the evidence before them that the appropriate sentence is life without the possibility of parole. "The defendant has had several prior brushes with the law and we are very confident that Jefferson County is safer with Derrick Allen off the streets for the rest of his natural life," he stated in an email to AL.com

"The Birmingham Police Department did a great job of not only investigating this homicide, but Detective Jeff Steele stayed with the case all the way through assisting in the prosecution as well. The family of Adam Morrow feels justice was served and can now begin the process of learning how to live without their loved one," Roberts said.